Eleven large, fully-grown trees will start to be removed Wednesday morning from the Hampden East III complex in Denver.
The management company says the tree removal is necessary for various reasons, including leaning trees, trees that are in a bad area, the wrong type of tree planted in the wrong spot or they're just "unsafe."
Residents say the trees look healthy and aren't bothering anything or anyone. They also say there are other projects that they deem are much more important.
"My concern in general right now is that we have a lot of projects that are very necessary, and then we get a project like this, which is absolutely unnecessary," resident Irina Bulkey-Hopkins said.
"It really is a waste of money," resident Davoud Ashouri said. "I've had asbestos and mold in my condo for a year now, because the roof needs to be replaced. That's more important."
Many residents also claim they weren't given the proper notification about the removal.
"I think at times there's a desire to do a project and the appropriate due diligence and notification of the residents is not taken into account," resident Julie Friedmann said.
"The signage was very cryptic," Bulkey-Hopkins said. "They did say there was going to be a discussion at the board meeting of an upgrade in landscape, but that doesn't translate to cutting the trees down. I think the resident should be asked on major projects."
Management says the residents were given a heads up.
"The board meetings are not secret," Dee Wolfe, HOA manager, said. "They're posted every single month and online. The minutes are posted online after every meeting. In fact [the files] did say tree removal and pruning on the agenda."
For many of the residents their concerns stem from a deeper issue.
"I would suspect, if I was to sell my condo that the resale value of my complex would go down as well," Friedmann said. "That's important to me too."
"If you take the trees out, would you get excited about the stone and gravel?" Ashouri said. "I don't."
9NEWS talked to two local arborists about this issue. They asked us about leaning trees, sidewalks cracking and visible cavities in tree trucks. Most of the trees marked did not have any of these problems.
The HOA's management company says the trees haven't had any care for close to 30 years.
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